1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an apparatus and a method for manufacturing a display panel, and a display panel manufactured by the method. More particularly, the present invention relates to a manufacturing technique of a curved display panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Flexible display panels using flexible film substrates instead of conventionally used glass substrates have been developed in the fields of liquid crystal displays, organic EL (Electro Luminescence) displays, and the like.
For example, Japanese Published Patent Application No. S62-150219 discloses a manufacturing method of a flexible electrooptic device in which evacuation and injection are performed on every predetermined number of cells without cutting a band-shaped cell substrate. Japanese Published Patent Application No. S62-150219 describes that this method significantly reduces the injection time of a liquid material, and that continuous processing using rolls is easily applicable to this method.
Moreover, by taking advantage of the flexibility of film substrates, display panels molded in a curved shape have been recently proposed to obtain the panel shape according to the surface profile and the size of a panel installation place, and to improve the design.
For example, Japanese Published Patent Application No. S62-238526 discloses a manufacturing method of a curved liquid crystal display device in which a sealant between a pair of glass substrates of a liquid crystal display device is cured with the substrates being held under pressure between a male curved jig having a primary convex surface and a female curved jig having a primary concave surface corresponding to the convex surface.
Incidentally, a roll-to-roll method capable of continuously processing a film substrate is preferable in terms of productivity for manufacturing of display panels using film substrates. Manufacturing a curved display panel by the manufacturing method disclosed in Japanese Published Patent Application No. S62-238526 requires multiple sets of rigid pressing jigs such as the male curved jig and the female curved jig, and also requires a space for installing or storing these multiple jigs, thereby increasing a footprint. Thus, this manufacturing method still has room for improvement in terms of the manufacturing cost and the apparatus cost.